Broadcom fires board broadside from shaky platform

04 December 2017

The San Diego, California-based company harshly criticized the proposal as an attempt of pressuring its investors into agreeing to a bid that it believes severely undervalues the firm and comes with significant uncertainty.

Broadcom stepped up its pursuit of rival Qualcomm this morning, announcing plans to nominate 11 members to Qualcomm's board of directors and "to propose certain other matters for the consideration of Qualcomm stockholders" in an effort to acquire the company.

Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan said Qualcomm's shareholders want the two companies to talk about the acquisition proposal, but so far Qualcomm has ignored Tan's attempts to begin a dialogue.

"We have heard from many Qualcomm stockholders who have expressed their desire for Qualcomm to engage with us. The nominations give ... stockholders an opportunity to voice their disappointment".

"Qualcomm's stockholders expect a board that will support this innovation while evaluating objectively the full range of opportunities available to maximize value for all Qualcomm stockholders", said Horton in a statement.

Broadcom shares are down 1.7%. Qualcomm stock was down 2.2%, near 64.05.

Qualcomm on November 13 rejected Broadcom's cash-and-stock offer, which at the time of the November 6 bid was worth $130 billion, including $25 billion of net debt.

Broadcom remains confident that it can clear any regulatory requirements needed to complete the deal, including satisfying antitrust authorities, Tan said.

The deal was quickly shut down in a unanimous decision by Qualcomm's board, which said the deal undervalued Qualcomm and its future prospects. Qualcomm's Board is composed of 11 world-class directors, 9 of whom are independent and 4 of whom have been added in the last 3 years, and all of whom are firmly committed to acting in the best interests of all Qualcomm stockholders.